Tuesday, February 23, 2016

On Using Teamup

Teamup is a free-to-use calendar schedule service that I found myself really liking. Its unique features make it stand out from other services like Google Calendar, iCalendar, and phone calendars. First, it requires no account- instead, the user keeps a link (it's a little long to remember, but it can easily be shortened with a service like bit.ly). For recovery, the calendar's creator can optionally input an email. The free version allows you to keep 10 subcalendars, color-coded categories in which events are put.

I think where Teamup really shines is its sharing system. The calendar's "administrator" can create multiple access links with different permissions. Here are all the different options:

On top of these options, you can apply these to either a whole calendar or just subcalendars. For each category, Teamup generates a new link that gives the person a different access level. You can then share these different links to different people, giving people exactly the access type you want.

After playing with Teamup for some time, here are some things that I liked and disliked about what Teamup can offer:

PRO: Browser based, iOS app
CON: Limited Android support; must be accessed from mobile browser
PRO: Still in development; new features on the way
CON: Still in development; not fully featured with importing and exporting other calendar types
PRO: Support for complex recurring events (biweekly, one-time adjustments, etc.)
CON: Free version only keeps 1 year of calendar history
PRO: Link and sharing system doesn't require everyone to make accounts
CON: Have to keep links around somewhere to keep using calendar
PRO: Free to use!
CON: Plus and Premium plans, for more features, are costly
PRO: Highly customizable visually and technically
PRO: Support team; I received an email back within 2 days

I think Teamup has lots of potential for different situations. For example, a teacher might keep this calendar around, put each of their classes on a subcalendar, and then give their classes access to the plan via a shared link. Event planners might use the scheduling view to see what happens when and who is where. Or a busy and forgetful student like me might keep it around, just to remember where he's supposed to be! I highly recommend Teamup as an all-purpose group scheduler.

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